Kaylon
Kaylon are a species of synthetic, mechanical lifeforms from the planet Kaylon 1. They are affiliated with, but not members of, the Planetary Union. By virtue of their mechanical physiology, Kaylon regard themselves as superior to biological species. History At some point in the past, the Kaylon species was created by the organic natives of Kaylon 1. Though the two races initially lived in harmony, the Kaylons continued to grow and evolve at a rapid rate, which led to them believe that their Builders were stifling their evolution. As a response to this perceived threat, the Kaylon wiped out all their creators and buried their remains in subterranean cave systems across the entire planet before rebuilding it into a perfect machine world. The Kaylon eventually developed a level of technology significantly beyond that of most known worlds and gained a reputation of extreme xenophobia to species they deem to be lesser than themselves. As Kaylon civilization progressed they began to consume all of the remaining land and resources on Kaylon 1 and to remedy this problem, made plans to expand, colonizing other worlds by exterminating the "unworthy" species inhabiting them. To enact this goal, the Kaylon began building a series of highly advanced weapons. In 2419 the Kaylon sent Isaac to study the worlds of the Planetary Union and see if they were worth preserving. After a few years serving on board the [[USS Orville|USS Orville]], the Kaylon decided from Isaac's data that the Planetary Union was not worth preserving and would be within their best interest to exterminate the Union species and colonize the wider galaxy. After his forces had seized control of the Orville, the Kaylon Primary took command of the ship and launched the Kaylon invasion of the galaxy. Biology Kaylons are not biological lifeforms, but are mechano-computational beings. All Kaylon are assembled within a central production facility on Kaylon 1. They are all built with nearly identical physical characteristics, the only noticeable differing feature between them are if their particular bodies generate red, orange, or blue lights. Any Kaylon that is viewed to not become a productive member of society is terminated as a program. Kaylons are also significantly smarter than Union species, with Isaac being able to interface with and access the programming of a 29th century device planted by Pria Lavesque. While Kaylons do possess eyes, they are merely for aesthetic purposes, as they truly rely on internal sensors to view their surroundings. This engineering fact allowed Gordon Malloy to once decorate Issac's face with Mr. Potato Head pieces without him realizing what had happened until the bridge crew pointed it out. In addition to this, they do not sleep, instead put in a "charging station" when they need to rest. Kaylons are also capable of mimicking the voice of any individual as well as transferring their consciousness into other mechanical receptacles. A Kaylon's mechanical biology allows them to live for millions of years. As a result, they do not perceive time in the same manner as biological lifeforms with Isaac stating that spending 700 years on a planet would be more akin to 700 seconds from his perspective. Upon reuniting with the Orville, Isaac's physical body showed no signs of physical degradation. Though incredibly durable, their bodies can be damaged by Union weapons and even vaporized by the PM-488 Titan's maximum setting. Kaylons also possess incredible strength, comparable to that of Xelayans and built in plasma blasters in their headpieces. Production Though kept tightly under wraps, the transition of the Kaylon from a neutral species to antagonists of the Planetary Union was in the mind of creator Seth MacFarlane from the start of ''The Orville'' in April 2016.@SethMacFarlane. "It was always locked and loaded, yessir. Surprise!". Twitter. Feb. 21, 2019. Actor Mark Jackson introduced the Kaylon species to the public at the San Diego Comic Con on July 22, 2017. He explained that the Kaylon sent Isaac as an ambassador and observer to the Planetary Union, and that the species communicates with each other as a "hive mind.""SDCC 2017: The Orville - Peter Macon, Mark Jackson, Chad L Coleman". Whedonopolis Video. July 26, 2017. Trivia Is is unknown why Kaylon bodies possess aesthetic non-functional eyes. Isaac confirms that they serve no optical purpose and on Kaylon surrounded by their own kind, they would have no reason to maintain humanoid features. It is possible however that humanoid bodies were adopted in preparation for the expansion and the inevitable interaction the Kaylons would have with technology and infrastructure built for humanoid use. The killing of the Builders by the Kaylons is similar to the organic Cylons's fate in the Original Battlestar Galactica. The phonetic resemblance of the names Kaylon with Cylon might have been chosen on lampshading purpose. Judging by the mound of Builder remains found, decomposition rates would suggest that the Kaylons exterminated their creators sometime within the last few thousand years. It is worth mentioning that the Kaylon also follow the same story line as the Automated Personnel Units from the Star Trek: Voyager episode Prototype. The APU's Builders - the Cravic and the Praylor - were also executed by their creations. One of the big differences between the two are that the Kaylon can assemble themselves, whereas the APU's require a builder. References Category:Species